How to Make a Hawk Costume

Written by camela bryan

Share

Tweet

Share

Pin

Email

Draw a feather pattern on the costume wings with a fabric marker. (hawk image by michael luckett from Fotolia.com)

A hawk costume starts with wide wings, a rounded head and big eyes. Add a mask with a beak and trousers that end at the knee, so the wearer's legs will take on the thick top/skinny bottom look of a hawk's legs. Use a brown hooded sweatshirt, brown wings and a brown mask to make a brown hawk. Adapt this basic design for a bald eagle with a white sweatshirt, brown wings and a white mask or turn it into a snowy owl costume by using all white materials.

Skill level:

Easy

Other People Are Reading

Things you need

Tape measure

Scissors

Heavy brown fabric

Iron

Pins

Marker

Sewing machine

Thread (match fabric colour)

1/4-inch foam rubber

Brown hooded sweat suit

Dark brown paper

Hot glue

1/2-inch-wide elastic

Brown half-mask

Yellow craft foam

White, grey or yellow socks or tights

Matching shoes

Show MoreHide

Instructions

1

Position the wearer's arms straight out to his sides and measure them from fingertip to fingertip. Also measure the width of his shoulders.

2

Add 6 inches to the arm-span measurement. Cut a rectangle of heavy brown fabric that equals this total length and is 14 inches wide.

3

Subtract the shoulder measurement from the length of the rectangle and divide the resulting number in half. Cut two more rectangles of the brown fabric to this length, also 14 inches wide each.

4

Iron up a 2-inch fold on one of the 14-inch sides of each small rectangle.

5

Lay out the large rectangle on a flat work surface with the right side up. Position the small rectangles over the ends of the large rectangle, with their right sides down. Align the sides and the unfolded 14-inch edges. The folded edges will be in the centre -- they will be the top of the two pockets that the wearer will slip his arms into. This forms the wings. Pin them in place.

6

Round the outside ends into a wing shape by drawing a curve onto the fabric with a fabric marker and cutting along the marker line.

7

Sew all around the edge of the large piece of fabric with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Clip the curves and turn the wings right-side-out. The wings will go around the wearer's back and the wearer's arms will go into the pockets on each side..

8

Trace the wings onto a piece of 1/4-inch foam rubber with a marker and cut along the marker line. Insert this piece into the wings to give them shape and structure.

9

Cut a pair of brown sweatpants 1 inch below the knee. Zigzag stitch the cut edge to finish it. Fold up 1 inch on the legs and sew close to the edge to make a casing. Leave a 2-inch opening for threading the elastic.

10

Measure around the wearer's calf just below the knee. Add 1/2 inch to the measurement and cut two pieces of elastic to this length. Thread the elastic through the casings and stitch the ends together, overlapping the ends 1/2 inch. Slip-stitch the openings closed.

11

Cut two eyes from dark brown paper and glue them to each side of the sweatshirt's hood.

12

Cut a 3-inch square from yellow craft foam. Fold it in half diagonally and glue it over the nose of a half-mask, with one of the folded corners at the top. Place the fold in the top corner over the nose. Don't block the eye holes.

13

Put the sweatsuit on the costume wearer. Place the wings over the sleeves and the mask under the hood.

14

Add white, grey or yellow long socks or tights and match the shoes to the tights